Kodunkundranathar Temple, Piranmalai, Sivaganga –
Legends
Fight between Vayu & Adishesha:
According
to Legend, Piranmalai is said to be a block of Mount
Meru. A contest arose between Vayu the Lord of winds and the
divine serpent Adisesha about their prowess. The race was that Vayu should
break the Meru Mountain bound by Adisesha. Despite his best efforts Vayu
could not succeed in moving the mount but some pieces fell on earth. One
such piece fell here. It is on this hill, this temple is built in three
tiers consisting of Padala Loka, earth and the hill. Lord Shiva graces
from this temple. Since this hill is in the form of a Sivalingam, it is also called Prachandragiri and Katoragiri.
Agasthya witnessing Divine Marriage from South:
As per
popular Hindu Mythology, North went down due to the heavy weight caused by the
huge crowd of Sages and Devas gathered there to attend the Shiva-Parvathi
wedding. Lord Shiva sent powerful dwarf sage Agasthya to go south to
equalize the ground level. Agasthya came to Pothigai hills in
south. But Agasthya had to sacrifice the pleasure of joining the divine
wedding party. Agasthya begged Lord that he should be able to get his
darshan at all places of his choice during his pilgrimage. The boon
granted, the sage enjoyed the Wedding function in many places including this
place-Piranmalai.
Lord
Shiva in this hill temple is known as Mangaibaagar (also called Mangai Nayagar)
and Goddess Parvati is known as Thenammal. In this hill, there is a
natural stone carving that depicts the marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
It shows Lord Mangaibaagar is holding hands with Goddess Thenammal. The temple
is under the administration of Kundrakudi Devasthanam.
People worshipped Shiva here:
Bhrama, Saraswati, Agasthya, Subramanya and Nandi are believed to have worshipped Shiva here.